How much does my medical condition(s) effect my social life?

I have a fairly complex history which kind of simply break down into three main things: Wolff Parkinson White, blackouts caused by low blood pressure and a fairly rare condition called occular vicarous mensration. I'm on medication which helps most of these issues (Fludercortizone, Nadalol and Depo Provera) but its not quite sorted. The thing is Im an 18 year old girl and I want to be able to go out and enjoy myself, the people I hang out with are fairly into partying hard and I want to join them but I dont really know how I should limit myself, my parents told me if i took anything I'd probably die, Is this true? would love some advice. thanx xxx

Your parents and doctors are your best advice. I am sure you will find activities that are both good for you and are fun and appropriate with your friends. This is how you know who your friends are.

Now I'm sure you're looking for help from someone who isn't old enough to be your grandfather, but that's what you got here. So, I've had a lot of experience with making friends and know it can be done and good friends are the only kind to seek and keep.

My advice is to play hard with your friends but skip the drugs and tobacco and cut back on the booze. No one will notice or care and you'll have just as much fun, maybe more, as you won't be risking your health. Jerry is right about the friends as well.

Okay, here's one from a grandmother!! LOLs!! I probably won't be too popular with the things I'm writing here, but here goes away. There isn't anything in your diagnosis that would kill you. Taking drugs with alcohol.possibly could. That's what your parents are probably talking about. It is SO important that you have friends at your age that you can deal with and have fun with. Why on earth do you feel YOU have to restrict your activities??? If that needed to be done, a doctor would have done that. Sometimes parents have a fear when they hear their child has a heart problem they will try to restrict their children. The reality is that even the Pediatric Cardiologist RARELY ever restricts activities; he will do that only if there is a true threat of Sudden Death. It always bothers me to read of young people on these forums who feel that they are incapable of living a normal 'young' life. At your age, my daughter was facing her own death and the idea of a heart transplant in order to survive. Her restricted life cost her all of her friends as they left her behind. You restrict your life, you will be facing A LOT of heartache, believe me, we've been there! Drink coke at the parties, that way you won't risk killing your brain cells or ending up with Alcholoic Cardiomyopathy; a really bad thing for you to have! Go and have fun! Once you become a full fledged adult, a lot of that fun gets replaced with resposibilities!

I just reached 42. I went from 18 to 42 so fast, I don't know where the time went. I just never was into the partying scene. I felt like a loser at times, like I was missing out. I tried all those things and never liked it. Now that I reached my 40s, wish I knew then what I know now. By my early 20s, that crowd was split up. I stayed close friends with 2 of the guys I hung out with because we were so much alike. We have such a good time when we go out now. Do our own thing, what makes us happy and we have no interest trying to "fit in" because frankly, I feel sorry for the folks continued with the party scene. They are paying a heavy price now later in life, and find little enjoyment unless they are taking something that is already aging them beyond their years.

Alcohol is tough even on a healthy heart. Trust me on this, as I know some of these guys can't touch it anymore because of the harm it did when they were younger. Smoke? If you're lucky, at a minimum, you will end up with COPD when you reach an older age that seems so far now but will be here before you know it. Have fun drowing in your fluids. Prepare yourself now, now is the time to make the right choices.

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